When the object to be controlled has six degrees of freedom, an operation input device of the prior art for inputting a moving instruction to the object is provided with the same six degrees of freedom as the object. As proposed in patent document 1, for example, there is a device for detecting the movement of a finger with six degrees of freedom by a structure in which a link mechanism having six degrees of freedom is provided with a part for placing a finger. An operation intended by an operator is input by fixing a finger at a predetermined position or holding a control unit.
Patent document 2 proposes a structure for instructing an operation to an object to be controlled with a whole arm by attaching a link mechanism to a human body.
[Patent document 1] U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,599
[Patent document 2] U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,526.
Supposing the telecontrol of a robot, for example, a simple task or a repetition of the same task can be performed by a robot autonomously. Therefore, for an accurate task, task which needs human intention or decision, or delicate task rather than the above task, an operator needs to telecontrol a robot. Particularly when a manipulator used in the medical field is to be remotely controlled, it is important that the operating tool fine control technique of an operating surgeon who is an operator should be realized accurately.
However, in an operation input device of the prior art, the input of a position and the input of an attitude are mixed up and the position and the attitude may be both changed by an input operation which is supposed to be made to change the attitude. Thus, the operation input device cannot reflect the intention of an operator accurately.
In general, when an attitude is input with a finger, the position of the finger is also changed by the movement of the finger in addition to a change in attitude. It is difficult for a man to change only the attitude or only the position. Unintentionally, he/she inputs an operation for changing both the position and attitude.
Particularly when the operator is not an expert, it has been difficult for him/her to control the operation input device as he/she intends. Since it is considered that it is a general surgeon who uses the operation input device especially in the medical field, technology for accurately reflecting the intention of an operator is important for the operation input device.
In the mechanism as disclosed in patent document 1, when an operator wants to change only the attitude of an object to be controlled while the position of the object is fixed or when the operator wants to change only the position of the object while the attitude of the object is fixed, the operator must carry out the input of an operation for changing only the attitude of the object while the position of his/her finger or the control unit is fixed or an operation for changing the position of the object while the attitude of the object is fixed. This kind of operation is difficult to be made. In fact, a movement is input into a parameter which should not be changed.
In the mechanism as disclosed by patent document 2, although the number of degrees of freedom is large, the separation of position and attitude is not taken into consideration.